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A bit on the side

WOMEN are fickle—at least according to a study of how a woman’s taste
in men varies across her menstrual cycle.

David Perrett of the University of St Andrews in Scotland and his colleagues
asked female volunteers to rate the attractiveness of computerised images of
male faces. Some of the faces had been “masculinised” by giving them larger jaws
and chins, while others were “feminised”, with rounder, softer features.

The researchers found that when women were ovulating and therefore more
likely to conceive, they were more likely to choose highly masculine
faces—even if they had preferred more feminised faces when tested a week
earlier (Nature, vol 399, p 741).

This may indicate that women are driven to cheat on long-term partners. “Our
findings don’t deny a mixed strategy,” says Perrett.